I've got a city love

Just got back from San Francisco this morning at about 4:30am. Rough 6 hour drive but it was a nice little getaway to kick off the last month of summer. Although 90% of the trip was dedicated to moving boxes full of stuff into my sister's new apartment. It felt accomplishing to see an empty room turn into an actual living space if you know what I mean. The first 2 of the 3 days spent in San Fran followed the same routine. Woke up, drove into the city to move stuff into Krystle's new apartment. Got something to eat. Unpacked stuff out of boxes. Built IKEA furniture. Got something to eat. Slept. The third day was a little different though. We were all done moving Krystle's stuff so my dad and I had a free (half) day to do whatever. We got something to eat at this cheap but mediocre dim sum place. Then we satisfied our hunger at a pizza place called Pizza Orgasmica. Good shiz. Then we walked into this little music store called Exploring Music across the street from the pizza place. It was owned by some asian guy who didn't seem to know much about anything he was selling. They were having a sale on guitars for the summer. An acoustic was sitting outside with a 79$ price tag on it. It looked nice, and played decently when I picked it up. Sure it's made by a brand that someone probably made up on the spot, but I'll take it for 80 bucks. So I did and it's my new little toy. Then my dad and I walked around Golden gate Park followed by a short walk through China Town. It was a fun trip. It feels weird to be back home though. I still find myself feeling a little too comfortable in the city atmosphere. Living in a place surrounded by tall buildings with taxi cabs passing through every intersection sounds great to me. Hopefully I can live in a big city a la Frisco or NYC. That would probably make me happy.

John Mayer Concert

Incredible. I believe he is THE artist of our generation to see live in concert. What he is able to do with a guitar is amazing. He can make that thing sing while not missing a note vocally. I have heard so many concert rips of his and have seen so many videos of his concerts online, but actually being there is just completely different. He has such a powerful stage presence that you can't help but enjoy yourself even if you aren't a fan of his music. At the beginning of the show, he said that it was the best setlist he had ever assembled. It was definitely a great setlist. He played about half of "Continuum" along with some of his oldies and cover songs. The way the show opened was just epic! All of the lights went out and the background music stopped playing. The crowd just started going nuts. You couldn't see anything on the stage, it was pitch black. Then the familiar opening chords of "Bigger Than My Body" started up as the stage lights turned on shortly after. His intro into the song added the whole rock concert vibe. You could tell he enjoyed the sold out crowd at Verizon Amphitheatre. The place was packed, especially the lawn seats. He played a new song called "Taking On Water" for the first time in concert, which just added to the excitement. And the crowd was so awesome that he snuck in an extra song in his encore. It was an amazing show and I have even more respect for John Mayer than I had before seeing him live. He truly is a talented musician and individual. If he comes back to Irvine, I'm for sure seeing him again. Thanks for buying the tickets mom! Oh and thanks Krystle & Danielle for the shirt!

Setlist:
* Bigger Than My Body
* Belief
* Crossroads
* I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)
* Good Love is On the Way
* Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
* Free Falling
* Taking On Water
* Waiting on the World to Change
* Mercy
* No Such Thing into Why Georgia
* Stitched Up
* Vultures
* Say
Encore:
* The Hurt
* Panama
* Gravity
Encore 2:
* Bold As Love

I recorded the audio of John's set with my camera so I didn't take any pictures of him. But I took some of the opening act, Colbie Caillat. She sounded just like her cd, which could be seen as good or boring.

I Had Crabs

Today started with a morning gym sesh with em followed by a trip to the Kitty House next to Yogurtland. There I bought one of those little Winnie the Pooh dressed-up-as-something-else-that-is-cute from a vending machine. I got Pooh in a raccoon costume! I like it. He's on my cell phone right now but will probably get the boot pretty soon. Then my whole fam went down to Encinitas once again. We ate at this restaurant near my dad's place. It was called Auggie's and they are known for their on-the-table seafood. Basically they cook a bunch of seafood such as king crab legs and claws, stone crab claws, mussels, and clams. There were some potatoes, sausage, and some corn on the cob thrown into the mix as well. The food was all seasoned cajun style so there was some kick to it. It was fun cracking the shells and pulling out the crab meat ourselves, especially using the little hammer. The one downside to that place was that their water tasted like straight up DISHWASHING DETERGENT. It was nasty to the max. Imagine watering your lawn, then licking the grass. Just gross.






Now for some random photos that I like...

Encinitas, CA

Went down to Encinitas with the padre y dos hermanas. For lunch, we ate at this burger place my dad saw on Food Network. It was a little past Sea World, right next to the beach. The place was called Hodad's. Walking in there was pretty scary. It looks like a stereotypical motorcyclist's bar. Its decor featured hundreds of license plate frames covering the wall, stickers stuck in random places, and surfboards hanging from the ceiling. They also blasted classic rock music, and I mean BLASTED. Some of the waiters/workers looked pretty intimidating but all seemed like nice people. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger basket, which meant it was a burger that came with fries. I think the chef secretly liked me because he snuck in three onion rings with my fries. Thanks chef! We also ordered a strawberry shake and it was huge, as was all of the food. The burger was so good but so filling. It was pretty tough to finish without feeling like you're running out of breath. They put about a quarter of an onion in each burger and were gracious with the bacon portions. It was a good burger joint and we made it out of there alive and tatooless. Then we went to this place in Encinitas called the Design District. It's basically a street filled with shops that sell home decor stuff a la Urban Outfitters style. Except everything is pretty pricey. I thought it was dull to say the least but they had some cool art pieces here and there AND it says "hump" on the street. We then took the party to the beach where I wore my shark hat from Japan. People stared, kids laughed, some probably called me a loser beneath their breath. We just walked along the sand for a good eight minutes and that was enough. An Albertsons was the next stop to get some beverages. We all got drinks that were on sale for a dollar or less. Bar-GAIN! As the sun was setting, we headed home for the forty five minute freeway ride back North.